Nilsine Partners LLC Increases Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Nilsine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 85.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,363 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,796 shares during the quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $333.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $350.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.82. The stock has a market cap of $271.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 653.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $398.88.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. New Street Research set a $415.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $415.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $114.00 to $207.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Arete Research upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Forty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.67.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Technical and earnings support: A bullish hammer chart pattern suggests potential near-term support after the recent pullback. Rising earnings estimates and the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter beat—$1.02 in adjusted EPS versus $0.98 expected, with revenue up 34.5% to $3.41 billion—also support the possibility of a rebound. Palo Alto Could Find a Support Soon
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism: DA Davidson raised its price target to $420, while Susquehanna and BTIG lifted targets to $415 and $404, respectively. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating, adding to a generally bullish Wall Street view. DA Davidson Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term AI opportunity: Analysts and commentary continue to highlight Palo Alto Networks’ expanding cybersecurity platform and products designed to protect enterprises from AI-related threats. The company’s strong growth profile has helped sustain investor interest despite recent volatility. Palo Alto Networks AI Cybersecurity Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector pressure is limiting momentum: Zscaler’s softer fiscal 2027 growth outlook overshadowed its earnings beat and weighed on cybersecurity peers. Palo Alto Networks has been more resilient than some competitors, but sector-wide concerns remain. Zscaler Growth Guidance Pressures Cybersecurity Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: AI acquisition: Palo Alto Networks reportedly paid about $500 million in cash and stock for Console, an AI help-desk automation startup. The deal could broaden its AI capabilities, although integration and valuation risks may limit its immediate stock impact. Palo Alto Networks Console Acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Premium valuation and insider sale: PANW’s very high valuation leaves little room for disappointment, while Chief Accounting Officer Josh Paul’s sale of 900 shares worth approximately $336,000 adds a minor cautionary signal. However, the sale reduced his holdings by only 1.23%, limiting its significance.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 290 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.74, for a total value of $101,134.60. Following the sale, the director owned 6,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,244,839.38. The trade was a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total value of $242,795.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,045,721.30. This trade represents a 10.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 38,635 shares of company stock valued at $11,150,578 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.